Rutherford elected San Bernardino County Board Chair

Wednesday

Jan 9, 2013 at 12:49 PMJan 9, 2013 at 12:50 PM

Staff Reports

SAN BERNARDINO • The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday elected Supervisor Janice Rutherford to serve as the board chair and Supervisor Gary Ovitt to serve as vice chair for the next two years.

The board unanimously voted in favor of both Rutherford and Ovitt, who represent the 2nd and 4th districts, respectively.

"It is a privilege to be selected to serve as chair," Rutherford stated in a press release. "The board has made tremendous strides over the past two years to focus on the County Vision and to restore public faith in county government. I pledge to continue those efforts with the help and support of my colleagues on the Board of Supervisors. I also look forward to reaching out to county employees and listening to their ideas for further progress in the services we provide to residents and taxpayers."

Current county charter requires that a chair be elected at its first meeting in January following an election of supervisors, according to the press release.

The chair's duties include acting as the board's general executive agent by presiding over meetings, working with the chief executive officer to set the board's agenda, taking action on the board's behalf when action is necessary prior to a scheduled board meeting and fulfilling any other duties as assigned by the board, according to the press release.

Newly elected Vice Chair Ovitt said that he is honored in the trust his colleagues have placed in him.

"I look forward to assisting Chair Rutherford and working with my colleagues on the board, our county staff and the public to achieve our goals and continue to make the county a great place to live, work and play," Ovitt said.

The board also commended outgoing Chair Josie Gonzales for her two years of service, according to the press release.

"You have been an outstanding leader and an outstanding mentor," Rutherford said to Gonzales. "It will be impossible to bring the kind of heart and poignancy to the chairmanship that you did."

The press release states that county covers more than 20,000 square miles, contains 24 cities and towns and 39 different departments, serves more than 2 million residents, is the largest county in the United States in terms of area and the fifth largest in California in terms of population.

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